Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Eavesdropping.

The bloke next to me on the bus was talking very loud French into his téléphone cellulaire. He shrugged and gesticulated as only a Monsieur could - and, as he signalled the word 'gauche', he nearly knocked me off my seat.

The Chinese girl behind me shouted loud, consonant free Chinese into her 手机, as a giggling gaggle of Somali girls squealed and screamed in Somali (?) while they climbed to the top deck.

None of this is unusual in Manchester and I walked down Market Street to the usual background of Spanish Polish Russian Punjabi Arabic Guajarati etc.

Kaz; I know what you mean about the Brummie accent. Do you remember a kids TV programme called Pipkins from the late 70s? It featured a neurotic hare called Hartley and a pig with a Brummie accent. Me and my Mum and brother always used to talk like Pig after Pipkins had been on.

"The Manc accent is awful" -!?!Conkers.Terry Christian's just got one of those leery character voices (the Manc equivalent of Mockney). I reckon we were born half a mile apart, it could be a thousand. The North Manc "ogh" (as in Manchestogh) seemed to have migrated south in the mean time.

La-di-dah! Coming from London I was called "that posh tart" when I worked in the Midlands. So why did the people in "the big house" think I was a skivvy? More to do with the clothes (old, tatty, muddy) than the voice I reckon.

I place Steve on the Warley/Halesowen border when there's a southerly blowing.

I thought I gave up watching Dr Who when I tired of Mr Tennant acting with his eyebrows (down = angry Doctor, up = happy Doctor)but really it was all those teenagers with matching accents. Don't casting agents ever visit northern stage schools?

Kaz, Canada has Newfoundland... you can probably understand those East Coasters better than those of us from Western Canada. I work with one at the hospital (he's a patient) - between his thick Newfie accent, mumbling monotonally without his dentures, and a beard that rivals the guys from ZZ Top, it's a wonder anyone ever understands a word he says!

@XL: I lived in Texas for two years... I can fake a half decent Texas twang! ;-)

Heh, heh...excellent polyglot community you have there Kaz.....sorry about the cockernees spoiling it.

Sorry to disappoint you about my accent though. London's been home for over half my life now and if both my ears worked properly I might even be able to hear Bow Bells but though there may be the occasional dropped consonant I'm afraid I've retained my home counties accent. Though of course that means I don't really have an accent ;)

My mum was born within the sound of the Bow Bells... and then migrated to North Kent.*Smacks Mr London Street around the head with a copy of The Independent, then has a tantrum before heading south for a bucket of jellied eels*Sx

Having migrated to Saaaaaaaaarff Laaaaaaahndan from Staffordshire, I've now given up trying to explain to locals that I'm not a Brummie, because they'll still convince themselves I'm a Brummie. I usually have to have a translator on hand because people from Saaaaaaaaarff Laaaaaaahndan only understand other people from Saaaaaaaaarff Laaaaaaahndan.

Ziggi 2:Idling demands 100% commitment and fitness.You're just a part timer who is not well.

Betty:It must be a nightmare for you having lived amongst aliens for so long!I've always lived up North - but when I was in Sheffield my Chorley vowels were mocked mercilessly.

Istvanski:Cockney Reds seem to be universally hated!The younger ones often apply to Manchester Universities and pollute our language and culture.One of them has even married my friend's son.

NiC:Splendid ! Top hole! England expects and all that!

Donn:England is still class ridden and divided by accents and dialect.A city like Manchester has many different accents - all frowned upon by the establishment. And we're just down the road from Liverpool where they are unintelligible. (N.B The Beatles spoke posh Scouse.)But to get on in UK you still need the BBC vowels.